The Australian government might be going after big tech multinationals for using complex tax avoidance methods, but the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) actually gave those companies its blessing to do so, according to documents released under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act.

Companies such as Google, Apple, and Microsoft have all been accused of employing such tactics.

In the briefing paper, sighted by ZDNet, the ATO said that it is aware of the double Irish Dutch sandwich methods used by technology companies to avoid paying taxes in Australia, and said that the department has been looking at the issue extensively.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) currently does not view a website as a permanent establishment (PE), so profits made on Australian websites are only taxable in the country where the business is based.

"Given the PE threshold for taxation, many significant businesses undertaking e-commerce across borders have structured their affairs ... so that any sales they make are not effectively connected or attributed to any PE that might exist in Australia for other purposes, such as support services," the document said. "The ATO has 'risk reviewed' several of these structures over the years.

"The tax outcomes in these entities were found to be 'commercially realistic' in light of the current law and policy settings."

Bradbury has assembled a taskforce against tax dodging by multinationals, headed by Treasury executive Rob Hefern, which will meet in late February.